For me, those systems take away a little of the fun of homebrewing, which is having people ask "What the hell are you doing?" as they stroll by my backyard and see all the buckets, hoses, kettles etc all over the place. My "system" is pretty bodged together, but it makes great beer. I am sure a system like those you show make great beer to, and probably are less hassle than my little 23L system. I am still relatively young and new to the hobby, so as I grow older and more fed up with the hassles of my system, and as I earn more $ (hopefully), I may move towards a fancy three tier system with more capacity. But I think it all comes down to this: Does the $3000 super cool system make better beer than the plastic mash tun on my patio? I don't know. So far, I have received great feedback from family and peers about what comes out of my system. For me, that is good enough.

i love to brew
i am very serious about having a good time and making the best beer possible. however, that doesn't mean you have to like it. i do all grain brewing, 5 gallons, in my kitchen, wearing my lucky pink bathrobe.

I think I would be more inclined to peice together a system using parts from here and there. If you have the space, time, skills, why not build yourself something sweet. You are right, it should all be about having fun with it.

I don't know if one of those $3,000 systems produces great beer, but what I do know is this: My system that I put together last summer cost me somehwere around $600. I couldn't believe how much better my beer is tasting... The cost differential is $2,400. A ten gallon batch will cost me $50. That means that with the money I didn't spend on equipment I can brew 480 gallons of great beer, not too shabby.

I have yet to attend a "brew off", so I am not sure of how political and/or competitive they are, but it seems to me that there should be competition among all brewers, regardless of the system. Besides, how could an event really enforce rules regarding systems anyway? It would be pretty tough to effectively screen out participants who use any of these systems. I suppose that there could be a section of competition reserved for only home built systems, and I suspect that it would be the most popular part of the event as folks could share pictures/stories/tips on how they constructed their system. This could actually set off a whole new brewing subculture as you would expose all those folks who have sweet home built systems, thus encouraging more folks to take a stab at it.

It is true that the expensive systems aid the brewer in their brewing tasks, but it is the knowlege of the brewer and knowing how to use the tools that makes the difference. Anyone that claims to be a brewer should have a basic understanding of the craft and how to manipulate the steps and acheve the desired result. Automation and system design will help but that is not the most important factors. I have been trained and worked as an assistant brewer, but I brew at home using my pot and buckets which I have used for years. The problem (with homebrew equipment) is that it lacks in some critical area that alters the brewing method enough so the desired result cannot be acheved. I still do not have a wort chiller (bad of me), so I only brew during the cool months of the year. My beer could be better if I cooled it sooner but I accept this trade-off.

The way I look at the automated systems is that yes, you can make the same beer everytime, but you can also make the same bad beer everytime too. I like the mad scientist approach to making a batch, and if I think I can make it better, tweak it the next time. I haven't been in competition, but I am an @$$hole enough not to care what anyone thinks as long as I like it. After all, its my hobby. Praises are good, but don't forget the real rewards are good beer.
As to Jayhawks statement, Things have been quiet around here. I went out of town for a week, and I thought Jeff shut the place down when I came back.

I think that any brewing system whether it be an automatic 3 tier R.I.M.S system or a simple bucket and sparge bag is fair for brewing competition. I agree with Brewer2001 that it is all about knowledge and not so much about equipment. The fancy equipment is simply a convienience and does not guarantee the same results every time. A brewer could be just as consistant with a simple brewing kit provided he/she is meticulous when brewing. The other thing that should be considered is that yeast is a living organism and does not always ferment according to plan. While a fancy brewing system will not help a brewer to deal with these issues, experience and knowledge will. I guess that is my 2 cents.

Freon
I built a really inexpensive ($70) and simple 3 tier system from wood and I have had good success with it. I have pictures on my website and could send you the plans if you would like. Took only a few hours to assemble and it is extremely helpful with all grain brewing.
www.kuenstlerbrau.com (look under "brewery tour")

You are much more responsible than I, the turkey fryer is at least two feet away from the stand. Unfortunatly, my burner is part of the stand, soooo I used metal angle iron so the fire marshall would relax.